Scheduling Surgery

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After the referral is received, please allow one business week for the surgical scheduling coordinator to contact you to set a date for surgery. If you are not contacted within one week, please call your surgeon’s office.

These steps must also be taken before a surgical date can be set:

If you are not the natural parents or legally adoptive parents, you must provide proof of legal guardianship to the surgical

Scheduling coordinator before surgery can be scheduled.

Any consultations or tests requested by your child’s surgeon, such as seeing a neurologist or having a CT scan, need to be completed and the results faxed to your surgeon’s surgical scheduling coordinator.

If you are and adult patient age 18 or older who has the ability to make and informed decision, you have the right to make your own medical treatment decisions.

Your surgeon will let you know if you are required to obtain a history and physical exam by your primary care physician. If so, when the surgery date is set, schedule a pre-surgical physical to be completed approximately 7-14 days before surgery. Any lab work that may be necessary should be done at that time.

The day the physical is done, your primary care physician should fax the Outpatient History and Physical form to your surgeon’s surgical scheduling coordinator. Call the surgical scheduling coordinator to confirm that the form has been received.

Important: you should keep the original form and bring it with you on the day of surgery.

Children’s National offers a Directed Donor Program, which allows family members or friends to donate blood to be used during the patient’s hospital stay and/or for procedures. There is no evidence that blood from directed donors is safer than from regular volunteer donors, but this service is frequently requested by many parents and therefore we offer such a program.

Some patients may donate blood for themselves for elective surgeries through the Autologous Donation Program. Donation must be done at least one week before surgery. The child must be healthy, cooperative, not be anemic, and be at least 10 years old. Small children can’t be their own donors.

Some families hold religious beliefs which preclude their acceptance of whole blood and, sometimes, other blood products. Children’s National is committed to the care of all its patients, regardless of their religious beliefs. If you have a religious objection to the use of blood transfusions for your child, please discuss this with your surgeon well in advance of surgery.